Finland Here We Come

We were supposed to go to Finland in 2020 with the same leader of our Spain trip, Mary. Then, the world stopped.

But here we are three years later in Helsinki heading out for that Finland hiking adventure. Finland wasn’t on our radar as a place to go, but it’s one of well traveled Mary’s favorites and so we had to see the allure for ourselves.

We took a circuitous path here on three different airlines. We’ve been travel hacking our trips, mostly flights. So we used points on Jetblue to JFK. Then, with more points hopped a British Airways flight, business class, to Gatwick airport in London. Took a National Expess bus ride, “I can’t believe I’m riding thru London and I can’t keep my eyes open”, to Heathrow, where we caught a Finnair flight to Helsinki.

We weren’t impressed with the British Airways business class layout or service. Joe and I were in head to toe seats. The seats did lay flat, if you knew to lower the arm rests, but if you had the window seat you had to climb over the legs of the person sleeping in the aisle seat behind you to get to the bathroom. If you had the aisle seat, there was no privacy. It took three hours to get dinner, and so by the time you could lay down, there were only a couple hours left to sleep.

But our business class ticket on British Airways gained us entry to the BA club at JFK. This provided us a chance to unwind and fuel up for free with unlimited food and alcohol and a comfy place to sit away from the crowds.

In London, we used our Priority Pass, and entered the Aspire Lounge in Heathrow and again took advantage of the free food and beverages and comfortable seats next to a window until we had to be at our gate. Had we needed to, we could have showered here too for $20.

We were delighted that everything went smooth in our 24-hour trip to Helsinki, and we didn’t spend a cent on food or drinks. We enjoyed our brief (and points paid) stay at the Hilton Helsinki Strand, where we were upgraded to the Executive level and enjoyed free drinks and snacks in the executive lounge after arrival.

Sunset in Helsinki was around 10:30pm and sunrise at 4:00am. I started seeing hints of sun thru the curtains around 3am. The free breakfast was exceptional with a buffet spread of everything imaginable.

Now we are on the train with our trip mates half of whom we’ve traveled before with and heading to our first accommodation in Pankakoski Finland.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/HZ8VJve1zsU4c52A7

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